Second Rising
by Bonnie Celt
Summary: It has been a year since Pitch Black was defeated. Jack brings a snow day just before Easter and Jamie's older cousin, Aria, comes for a visit. However, Pitch is not as gone as the Guardians think, and Jack and Jamie are trying to make Aria believe. And Jack really wants Aria to believe in him. When an accident on a frozen pond turns tragic, will there be a new Guardian to help?
1. Chapter 1

It has been a year since the Guardians, along with Jamie Bennet and his friends, defeated Pitch Black. North and his yetis were working hard on next Christmas's toys; Tooth Fairy and all of the Baby Tooths were still gathering the world's children's teeth for safe keeping. With only a few days before Easter, Bunnymund was working hard to have all of his precious eggs spectacularly painted and ready for Easter morning.

It was night; the dark velvet expanse of the sky was scatter with glittering with diamond stars. A cold wind breezed through Burgess and blew the snow that had come two days ago into new drifts. The Sandman, A.K.A. "Sandy", emerged from the darkness in all his golden, glowing glory. With a serene smile, he began to release streams of his bright dream-sand. The trails of glowing, golden sand made their way into the rooms and minds of all the children, bringing them sweet dreams.

Although all of the town was asleep, Sandy still was being watched. A lone blue, brown, and white figure peered up at his friend's work from the rooftop where he was perched. White windswept hair threatened to trail into icy blue eyes that gazed in wonder at the golden streams above. A cocky smile graced a deathly pale face, and a frost blue hoodie and brown pants covered the boy's thin, wiry frame. Jack Frost twirled his hooked staff as he watched his fellow guardian's nightly work. What the little golden man did every night never ceased to amaze the winter spirit. He loved to watch the dreams find their child and the peace that would appear on each child's face in their sleep. Eventually, however, Jack knew that he needed to get sleep. He had a big day tomorrow. He planned to make it a snow day so that he could pay a visit to a particular young friend of his.

"Wake up, Sleepyhead!" Seven-year-old Jamie Bennet woke up to a snowball hit his window the shouts of familiar voice.

"Jack!" the boy cried, jumping out of bed. He ended up getting tangled up in the sheets and blankets and falling on the floor in a laughing, squirming heap. Jack pushed the window open and peeked in to see Jamie trapped in his blankets on the floor. The boy's laughter told Jack that he was fine, so Jack decided to have fun with him.

Kneeling down beside the struggling, squirming heap, Jack said "Oh, no, where is my buddy, Jamie?" in a tone of mock seriousness. Muffled exclamations came from under the heap. "Wherever can he be?" Jack continued. "I guess he's not here. But how am I supposed to enjoy this snow day I brought without Jamie?" More, louder cries came from the pile of bedclothes, and the shifting and squirming increased. "I guess I'll just have go without him," Jack said sadly. As he rose and started toward the open window, Jamie finally was able to poke his head out from under the blankets.

"Here I am, Jack, here I am!" he exclaimed, the rest of him still trapped. Jack whirled around in mock surprise.

"Jamie! There you are! I was so worried! Snow days are no fun without you!" Jack cried and quickly disentangled Jamie from the bedclothes. Once he was free, Jamie threw his arm around the winter spirit's neck.

"I'm so glad you came today!" the boy said, "Someone's coming that I want you to meet!" He excited jumped up and down. Jack laughed at Jamie's antics.

"Is that so?" he chuckled. "Well, who is it? Are they a believer?"

"My big cousin, Aria, is coming! She tells the best stories and fairy tales, and sometimes I do think that maybe she believes!" Jamie gushed. "But you and her look about the same age, and most kids her age don't believe." His continence fell slightly. "Maybe we can help her to believe!" he continued, his face brightening at the thought.

"I bet we can!" Jack laughed. "Does she like the cold?"

"She's really cold natured, so she doesn't go out much in the winter much," Jamie answered, "but she _loves_ snow."

"Well then, let's give her snow!" Jack said, soaring out the window. In a few moments, he had called up low ceiling of snow clouds over Burgess and icy flakes were soon gently falling.

Jamie dashed outside to catch snowflakes with his tongue.

"Whatcha think, kiddo?" Jack asked as he landed on the fence.

"It's great!" Jamie said.

"I'll let it go for an hour or two, but I can't let to snow too much," Jack replied. "Bunny will have my hide if I interfere with Easter too much."

"It'll be enough." Jamie answered confidently, and threw a snowball at Jack.

"Oh it's a snowball fight you want?" the Guardian of Fun asked, "Then, let's have a snowball fight!" Like lightning, jack dived to the ground for snow and threw a snowball at Jamie's retreating back. Soon, all six of the neighborhood kids that believed in Jack joined in for a massive free for all.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh it's a snowball fight you want?" the Guardian of Fun asked, "Then, let's have a snowball fight!" Like lightning, jack dived to the ground for snow and threw a snowball at Jamie's retreating back. Soon, all six of the neighborhood kids that believed in Jack joined in for a massive free for all.

After a few hours of snow balls throwing, snowman building, and sledding, Jamie and his friends began to tiredly retreat back to their houses for lunch and hot chocolate.

"See you guys later!" Jamie called over his shoulder as Jack steered him toward his house. At the gate, Jack gently pushed the boy toward the front door.

"You go in and get al warmed up so that we do this again later, okay?" Jack grinned at the reluctant seven-year-old.

Okay," Jamie sighed, "but you will be back later? Aria's supposed to get here today."

"I promise, kiddo." Jack smiled and winked back. With huge grin, Jamie started up the steps of the porch, but a car horn sounding from the street made him and Jack turned around. A taxi was stopped right in front of Jamie's house. The back door open and an older teen girl with wavy ginger hair emerged.

"Aria!" Jamie squealed. "Mom, Sofie, Aria's here!" he leaped off the steps and ran past Jack to the girl. He ran and threw his arms around her waist, chattering excitedly. Jack watched her hazel-green eyes shine as she was welcomed by the boy. She knelt in the snow to talk to Jamie while the taxi driver pulled her single suitcase out of the trunk.

Just then, Sofie ran out of the house crying "Aria! Cuz, cuz, cuz!" Jamie laughed and stepped aside so that Sofie could throw herself into Aria's outstretched arms! The little put her arms around the cousin's neck and Aria stood with Sofie in her arms, exclaiming about what a big girl had become since they had seen each other last. Jamie took the suitcase from the driver and attempted to drag it to the house, but it was as big as her was, so he did not get very far. Aria turned to see his valiant struggles and quickly took the luggage from Jamie, saying what a strong gentleman he was.

Mrs. Bennet stood at the gate, not far from Jack. She took Sofie from Aria and hugged her niece. As he passed, Jamie mouthed _Later!_ to Jack and the winter spirit waved and nodded. Jack watched the happy, laughing family go in the house where it was warm. Aria seemed a bright, imaginative person to Jack. Maybe, just maybe, he and Jamie would be able to make her to believe in Jack Frost. And for some reason the thought of Aria's warm hazel-green eyes smiling at him in belief made his face feel warm and stomach do a little flip-flop.


	3. Chapter 3

An hour later, Aria, Jamie, and Sophie ran out of the house laughing and shouting about the earlier snowball fight.

"That sounds so cool, Jamie!" Aria grinned "No pun intended." she said with a wink. She turned up the collar of her brown wool pea-coat as an icy blast of wind rushed past the threesome. With a sigh, she fell back into the snow, swishing her arms and legs in the snow to make an angel. Jamie and Sophie copied her, plopping down on either side. Jack watched silently from the top of the fence. He crouched there with his staff resting on his shoulder. From there, he could see Aria's face. His icy blues eyes took in her petite height, sparkling green eyes, and bright ginger surrounding a pale face in soft waves and curls. Twin spot of rosy color were blooming in her ivory cheeks. Jach grinned; not in three hundred years had he seen a girl he thought prettier.

The threesome decided to gather Jamie's friends and go to the park to build snow forts and have a snowball war. As he watched them dash down the street hand in hand, Jack released the breath he had not realized he had been holding. What was wrong with him? She was just Jamie's older cousin. She didn't even believe in the Guardians! She had looked in Jack's directions several times and had never registered that she had seen him.

However, Jack called up the wind and flew off to the park where he knew a new snow war was about to begin brewing. As he flew over, all of the kids looked up and shouted greetings to him.

"Jack! You're back!"

"We're planning a snow war!"

"Wanna join us, Jack?"

"Come and play with us!"

"You always make the best snowball fights!"

"Who are you all talking to?" Aria asked with a bemused smile on her face.

"Jack Frost!" Jamie answered. "I know you don't believe in him, but he's right there." The boy pointed to Jack, who was perched on a park bench.

However, all that Aria could see was an empty, snow-cover bench. "Jamie, I don't see anyone."

"That's because you don't believe in him. You can only see him if you believe."

"Um, okay." Aria answered. "If you say so. And you know way more than I do on those things."

Jamie grinned "Well, I do know a bit." He conceded.

"Hey, who else has whole books on yetis, Bigfoot, and the Easter Bunny? You must be some kind of an expert by now."

Jamie's grin widened at his cousin compliment. Jack smiled. Even if she didn't believe in the Guardians, she was great with kids. She was nearly as spunky and imaginative as they were. She listened with rapt attention to them as they all recounted their battle with Pitch Black last Easter. Jack watched her huge eyes seem to drink in every word. She seemed almost to be a kid too, yet there was still part of her that was more mature. It didn't seem bad though. Maybe, just maybe there was hope that Aria would come to believe. Jack was suddenly pulled from his thoughts as a snowball nearly hit his face.

"Let's see if you know as much about building forts and throwing snowballs as you do these Guardians!" Aria cried as she launched another snowball in Jamie's direction. Soon, with a little help from Jack, two snow forts facing each other were molded into place and a huge snowball war commenced with Jack slyly supplying both sides with ammo. This, of course, soon made him a target as both sides claim him as theirs and said he was betraying his team by helping "the enemy". Two hours later, all were exhausted, pink faced, and covered with snow from head to toe.

"I think it's time we all go home and get warmed up." Aria said.

"Do we have to?" all of the kids cried in spite of their tiredness.

"Go on and thaw out." Jack told them. "It won't be any fun if you all turned into popsicles."

"All right," they sighed and followed Aria back their street.

Before entering the house, Jamie turned to Jack who was hovering outside. "Thanks for the best snow day ever!

"Yeah! Snow, snow, snow!" cried Sophie.

"Go on in before your friend starts nipping at your noses." Aria pushed the children towards the door. As Jamie and Sophie skipped inside, Aria stayed on the porch. She turned and leaned against one of the pillars. That afternoon had almost seemed magical. It had been better than most of her childhood memories. The only truly happy ones she had were when she came and visited her aunt and cousins.

Jack could see a solemn, thoughtful expression come over Aria's face as she wrapped her arm around a column and looked out on the snowy yard before her. He suddenly remembered her. She lived much further south where it rarely snowed. However, there was one winter when he was given her town a blizzard and a week off from school anyway. He remembered a girl with ginger hair kneeling by a pond, all by herself. Her sparkling green eyes had darkened and had a stormy look, a look they held now. Jack want to go to and ask her what was wrong. He wanted to tell her everything was fine or would be. Without realizing it, he released a breath of cool wind in her direction in his desire to reach out to her.

Aria closed her eyes as a cool breeze brushed her face and blew her hair back from her face. It was not bitter or biting cold, but seemed comforting somehow. Like Mother Nature had blown her daughter a gentle kiss. Even though she rarely had snow in Richmond, Virginia and she was very cold-natured, the few times in her life she had felt content were times when there were snow on the ground. She remember a time with she was eight. Her parents had died in a car wreck three months before. Her dad's brother had taken her in, but he really did not have time for an eight-year-old. She had sneaked away the day after a rare blizzard had come through. She found a frozen pond in the woods and had knelt down at its edge and used a stick to trace patterns in its frosty surface. A cool wind that seemed to want to comfort had swirled around her just as it was doing now, nine years later.

Everything Jamie had told her about the Guardians of Childhood came back her mind. Santa, Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy had never seemed particularly present in her life, although she always had hoped and dreamed that they would be. Sandman probably did the best he could , considering the huge number of kids there were in the world, but more than one nightmare about her parent's death had filtered into her sleep through the years. Winter, though, almost seemed to have offered a shoulder to cry on that day by the pond. Was it possible that everything that Jamie said was true? If so, Jack Frost, bringer of winter, seemed most real to Aria.

"If you are really out there, Jack Frost, thanks" She murmured, her eyes scanning the sky above Burgess. Jack gasped at the mention of his name as Aria turned and went inside. She seemed to be open to the idea of Jack and the Guardian's existence. Hope rose in Jack's chest as he watched her disappear into the Bennett's home.

Miles away a shadow stirred in the depths of an unknown, underground cavern.

"I will return. There will always be fear." A dark silky voice whispered. Golden eyes flashed at the thought of the Guardians of Childhood.

**Reviews would be awesome, dear readers! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Well, this has been a great fireside chat," said Jack as he rose from the floor of North's office. All of the Guardians had been invited by the huge Russian for a quiet Christmas party at the North Pole. It would be a good chance or a little relaxation, North had told them. "It's been fun, but I gotta fly."

"Now, just where are you rushing off to?" Bunny asked.

"Jamie's," Jack answered. "We have a special little project going on." He turned to leave only to run into North's belly.

"And what project would that be?" North's thick Russian accent dripped with merriment. Jack looked up to see a twinkle in North's eyes a big grin on his face.

Jack could see that he was not got anywhere without fessing. He rolled his eyes. "It's just his older cousin. We're trying to convince her to believe in us Guardians."

"Oh, it's a _her_ that you're goin' ta see," Bunny said with a mischievous grin. "Is she a good lookin' sheila?"

"Well, yes—but—but that's not what we're doing this!" Jack sputtered, twin faint purplish spots of color rising in his cheeks. It was the closest thing to blushing he could do.

"Oh stop teasing him!" Tooth Fairy interceded. "Gaining another believer is a good cause."

"Tooth is right," North said. "Go and made a believer out of her." But he sent a mischievous wink to Jack, who groaned and flew off down the halls.

"That's right, Frostbite," Bunny called after Jack "Make a believer out of her, Romeo!"

"Bunny!" Tooth Fairy glared at him.

Sandy, who had simply watch everything unfold made several signs and shapes of dreamsand appear over his head.

"Well, yes, I think it's cute," replied Tooth Fairy. "But we don't need to make it any harder for him."

Sandy nodded in reply, but Bunnymund had a devilish grin.

"This is too good an opportunity to pass up, Tooth." He said, "I can poke at the show pony for weeks on this."

"Just not too much, Bunny," North warned. "Remember last time you teased too much he froze your tail to de floor."

Bunny just rolled his eyes and tapped the floor with his huge hind paws. "See you guys later!" he said before jumping down the hole.

"I guess I'd better get back to the palace," said Tooth Fairy. "Three sets of triplets have all lost their first tooth today."

Sandy signed that he needed to get going too. Night was fast approaching.

"Thank you all for coming." North waved good-bye to his comrades.

"Good luck with Christmas!" Tooth Fairy waved back and Sandy made signs that basically meant the same thing. North lumbered back into his workshop and decided to take a peek at the Believers Globe. He was not sure, but it almost looked like there were fewer lights shining there than yesterday. North shook his head, however, and passed it off as paranoia.

Meantime, Jack had made his way to Jamie's house. First, he went to Jamie's room, woke him up, and told him the plan. He was going to know on Aria window to wake her, then write in frost on them to communicate with her, very much like he had done to convince Jamie that the Easter Bunny was real. Jamie said he would sit outside her door so that he would know what was going on. He told Jack which room was Aria's and Jack flew out and around the house to her window. He peeked in her window, and saw her asleep in bed. She wore a dark blue and dark green plaid flannel nightgown. Her hair tied back in a ponytail, but something was wrong. She was tossing and turning in an agitated manner, and Jack could hear moaning through the glass. He quickly opened the window and flew to her side. He tried to wake her but he could not touch her to make her hear him. Remembering Jamie was stationed outside the door, Jack rushed to let him in.

"Something's wrong with Aria; you need to wake her!" Jack explained. Jamie face clouded over in concern when he saw his cousin restless movements. Jumping up on the bed, he shook her shoulder, and called her name while Jack retreated to the corner by the window. Tonight was not going to be a good time to try to convince her of his existence. Jamie finally woke her and she bolted upright, gasping for breath. She looked wildly around her room for moment before burying her face in her knees.

"Are you ok?" Jamie asked shakily.

"Yes, I fine," Aria lied. "It was just a nightmare. Sorry I woke you up, buddy." Reached over and hugged and boy and told him to go back to bed. Jamie did as he was told, knowing Jack was still there and that Aria was in good hands with him. For several minutes after Jamie left, Aria buried her face her knees once more. Finally she raise her head and slipped into her gray woolen robe. She went to the window and stood there glazing out at the moon, hugging herself and letting the cold night air wash over her. Jack watched as silent tears began to roll down her face. He wanted to do something to let her know that she was not alone. It did not matter anymore if she believed; he just wanted to wipe away her tears and let her bury her face in the front of his hoodie. He had no idea where these feelings were coming from other than from deep down somewhere.

Jack did the only thing he knew to do. He reached passed her and touched one of the window panes. It instantly frosted over.

Aria watched it in amazement. Since when did single window panes frost over? Suddenly, words began to appear, as if someone was writing in the frost. _I'm sorry_ slowly appeared. Aria gasped. How could this be happening? Someone had to be doing it, but Aria saw no one beside herself. The shape of a broken heart appeared as the next pane frosted over. She wandered back toward her bed thinking. What was going on? How could this be happening? Unless—

Aria ran back to the half open window. She pushed the left side completely open, leaving the right, frosted side closed. She looked up with pleading eyes at the full moon. "Is a way—is it possible that Jack Frost is real? I know someone has been here with me when I'm hurting before, and I can feel them here tonight." Although she never heard a clear answer, she felt the familiar cold but comforting wind swirl around her once more. She softly smiled through her tears and whispered, "Thank you, Jack."

Jack gasped. She had said his name! As if she knew he was right there behind her!

Aria heard a gasped and whirled around to find herself face to face with a boy her age with a deathly pale face, a windblown head of snow white hair and the most incredibly pale ice blue eyes she ever seen. Her eyes quickly took in his frosted blue hoodie, brown pants and hooked staff.

"She just said my name!" the boy breathed, looking like he could not believe his ears.

"_You're_ Jack Frost?"

Jack's head shot up and he realized she was staring at him. "Wait, you can hear me?" he asked, barely daring to hope for an answer.

"Yes."

"You can see me?"

"Of course."

He whooped and did a back flip in the air.

"Then you are Jack Frost!" She cried joyful.

"Yeah, I am!" Jack replied. "Who else did you think brought the snow-day?"

"All these years, I hoped and dreamed you were real." She whispered. "It was you, nine years ago by the pond, wasn't it?"

"Well, uh—" Jack did not really want to say. He did not want to seem like he had been stalking her for the last nine years. He had not. He had merely shown up at the right time on a few occasions.

"Even if you won't admit it, I know it was you." Aria said and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you," She whispered in his ear.

"Hey, no problem." Jack answered as she separated. "I'm the Guardian of Fun. I wouldn't be doing my job if I left sad lonely kids on their own."

Aria smile shyly at him and Jack felt a whole flock of butterflies erupt in his stomach. Just then, Jamie came sleepily back into the room. He had heard Jack's yell. Aria turned excitedly to the boy.

"Look who's here Jamie!" she said pointing to Jack.

"She can see you?"

"Yep!"

"Yay!" Jamie yelled, which woke up his mom.

"Jamie? Aria? Are you ok?" Mrs. Bennett called through the door.

"We're fine, Mom." Jamie answered truthfully. "I couldn't sleep, so Aria is telling me about meeting Jack Frost."

"Ok, don't tell him too many stories." Mrs. Bennett said.

"I won't!" Aria replied. The threesome in the room giggled as Mrs. Bennet went back to her room. "She is right you know." Aria said. "A certain someone really should go back to bed."

"Do I gotta?"

"Yes, if you want to have the energy to play in the snow tomorrow." She answered firmly.

"Ok." Jamie relented. "Night, Aria! Night, Jack!"

"Good night, Jamie!" Jack and Aria chorused as the boy slipped out of the room into his own.

"I should probably got back to bed too," said Aria. "If only I knew that I wasn't going to be plagued by nightmares again." She sat on the edge of her bed and buried her face in her hands.

"Hey, it'll be ok" Jack knelt in front of her and gently pulled her hands away from her face. "I'll put in a word with the Sandman. He and I go way back."

"Really?" Aria asked. "Why would you do that for me? I'm hardly a child anymore, Jack."

"Because we protect the hopes and dreams of believers," Jack answered. "They just happen to be children—mostly."

Aria smiled at her new friend. Somehow, she just knew he was right. It probably did not help that he looked rather handsome as he knelt before her, his frosty hooked staff in one hand, her small trembling hand in the other. For a few long moments they stayed like that, warm eyes and frosty blues locked in a steady gaze. Jack was the first to break the spell.

"I should get going. Sandy will be here soon." He said, gently squeezing her hand and rising to go to the window. He nearly flew out, but quickly came back. "Would it be—you know—okay for me to-to come see you—you and Jamie—tomorrow?" he asked, suddenly shy.

Aria smiled at his stuttering "Of course, Jack. I think Jamie would be disappointed if you didn't come."

"Oh, right. Well, see you then." Jack replied before soaring out through the window. Aria ran to it and saw him fly off into the night. With a happy sigh, she closed the window and slipped back into bed believing with all her heart that what Jack had said was true.

In the night sky above Burgess, the Sandman appeared in a biplane made of dreamsand. The plane morphed into a round platform and its occupant began sending out streams of dreamsand. There was one that he took great care in forming and sending off to its recipient. He had been charged very specifically by his friend Jack Frost regarding this dream. With a warm smile, he gently sent it on its way and personally watched to make sure it reached young Aria. The peaceful look that settled over her face was all it took to tell Sandy that his job there was done.

However, Sandy was not the only one watching Aria's window. A dark, sandy, skeletal horse shape hid in the shadows of a couple of pines near the house. It watched the golden sand enter the room. With a shrieking neigh, it raced to a nearby drain and followed countless dark, twisting tunnels until it finally reached a large shadowy cavern. It stopped before a tall thin man. He was dark skinned, black haired and clothed from head to toe in black. His golden eyes pierced the darkness and fixed themselves on the returning Nightmare. The horse neighed and whinnied at him, and a wicked smile appeared on his face.

"Just wait, Jack Frost. You and your precious Guardians won't be able to defeat me. Not this time; not if I have her." Pitch Black, the King of Nightmares and Fear, vowed.

**Okay, so this chapter is a bit fluffy, but more substantial chapters are to come, I promise!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Just wait, Jack Frost. You and your precious Guardians won't be able to defeat me. Not this time; not if I have her." Pitch Black, the King of Nightmares and Fear, vowed.

The next morning dawned bright and early. Aria's eyes fluttered, then flew open. With a giggle, she bounced out of bed. Aria slipped on her favorite dark blue sweater, dark wash jeans, and her brown winter boots. Peeking in her jewelry box, she found her snowflake earrings. She then rushed down stairs to help her aunt fix breakfast, which consisted up scrambled eggs, bacon, and cinnamon raisin muffins, Aria's specialty. After breakfast, Aria, Jamie, and Sophie bundled up for a morning in the snow. They went outside to find Jack Frost waiting by the gate of the yard. He was leaning against the edge of the fence, one hand in the pocket of his hoodie, his staff clutched in the other.

As the threesome approached, Jack thought back to the night before.

_ "How did it go, Frostbite?" Bunny asked. All of the Guardians had met back at the Pole to hear about Jack's success or failure. No one had ever tried to win the belief of someone Aria's age. _

_ "Well, there should be another light on the Globe, Cottontail." Jack replied._

_ "Oh! She believes?" Tooth Fairy gasped happily. _

_ "Well, in me anyway," Jack answered. "Getting her to believe in the rest of you, if she doesn't already, will be easy, if she believes in me."_

_ "It is good start, Jack," said North patting Jack's shoulder. "_A _for effort."_

_ "Thanks, North."_

_ "So, tell me, is she as good lookin' a sheila as you thought she was?" Bunnymund asked slyly._

_ "Bunny!" Tooth protested. _

_ "Wait, what? She—but that has nothing to do with this!" _

_ "Aww, I think the show pony has a crush—"_

_ "Enough, Bunny." Said North sternly. "I'm sure Jack has good, _noble_ reasons for getting Aria to believe." Bunny just shrugged it off. The twin spots of purple rose faintly in Jack's face again at Bunny's comment. Did he have a crush on Aria?_

_ "Just please send her a good dream tonight, Sandy; she's already had one nightmare, and that's one more nightmare than she should have had."_

Jack was suddenly pulled back to the present by shouts of his name. "Hi, guys!" He said. "What do you say to rounding up the gang and having a snowman building contest?"

"Yeah!" Jamie shouted and pulled Sophie after him to find their friends.

"Good morning." Jack nodded to Aria.

"Morning," she answered. "I brought you something."

"Really?

Aria held out the last cinnamon raisin muffin wrapped in a napkin. "I made muffins this morning." She said.

Jack could smell the cinnamon and something else, something fruity. He gently took the little package from her. "Smells good." He said, unwrapping it. He took a small bite and found it absolutely delicious. Once he swallowed, he said, "Tastes even better." Aria bowed her head with bright pink spots blooming on her cheeks.

"Thanks." She murmured to her boots. By the time they reached the park, Jack had finished the muffin and the blushed had diminished from Aria face. The children were lined up in pairs and ready for Jack to give the word.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Build you snowmen!" Jack called, chuckling. "You wanna be my partner?" he asked Aria.

"I'd love to!" she answered, and they quickly took their place in line. They all worked for hours, and bragging rights were awarded to the teams with the tallest snowman, the fattest snowman, the funniest snowman, and over all best snowman. Jamie and Sophie won for funniest since their snowman had Jamie's flap hat and Sophie's fairy wings on it. Pippa and Cupcake made the tallest. The twins made the fattest. Jack and Aria's made best over-all, looking exactly like the snowman in the new movie Frozen, carrot and all.

As they all stood back to admire their work, Jack said, "Looks like we make a good team," without thinking.

"I guess so," Aria answered, blushing slightly.

Suddenly, something dark by one of the trees caught Jack attention. He quickly flew over there, but found nothing. After a careful sweep of the area, Jack returned to the others.

After lunch, everyone met back up for an afternoon of snowball fights, snow angels and sledding. That evening, they all returned home tired, just like the evening before. As they walked back to the Bennett house, Jack told Aria, Jamie, and Sophie that he would be gone for a few days.

"But Jack!" Jamie cried, disappointed.

"Hey, there are lots of other towns that need snow-days too, kiddo."

"Okay, but you'll be back after?

"Sure!"

"Go on in you two," Aria motioned Jamie and Sophie inside when they reached the house. "Your mother is waiting to hear all about our afternoon."

Once the children had gone in, Aria turned to Jack. "Thanks for last night," she said. "I didn't have any more nightmares. I guess the Sandman is real, after all."

Jack smiled. "No problem. Sandy was happy to do it."

"Well, thank him for me." Aria said as she turned to go inside too, but as she reached the steps she whirled back around and ran back to Jack. She threw arms around his neck in a hug. Jack was surprised, then he slipped his arms around her slim frame. "Take care of yourself, Jack." She whispered in his ear.

"Don't worry, I will." He answered. She slowly pulled away from him but not completely. She looked him in the eye and saw his characteristic mischievous light there. Toward the end of the day, she had a feeling of being watched and an uneasiness grew in her. It somehow felt like this would be the last she would see of Jack Frost for a long time. For a minute, she just stood there, still wrapped in his arms, her hands on his chest. Her green eyes looked up at his ice ones; for some reason, she felt the need to memorize his face, the feel of his cool touch.

Jack saw a solemn look in Aria's eyes when she pulled back from their hug. She gazed up at him like she thought they would never see each other again.

"Are you all right, Aria?" he asked, concerned.

"Yes, I'm fine." She answered, but her voice betrayed her.

"Are you sure?"

Aria reluctantly pushed away from Jack. "Yes." She replied, no looking back at him as she mounted the porch steps. At bedtime, Aria pulled her nightgown over her head and silently pulled the blankets up her chin. She didn't understand this feeling of doom that had come over her. Slowly, she drifted off into an uneasy slumber.

Later that night, Jack watched Sandy spin Aria' s dream and saw it go in through her window and find her. The soft frown that had been there disappeared and her face smoothed out into an expression of contentment.

"Thanks, Sandy!" Jack called as he flew by the little golden man and flipped him a playful salute. Sandy nodded with a grin. The Sandman soon finished his work in Burgess and moved on to a new town. However, not long after he left, shadows began to emerge. Three tall, black, sandy, Nightmare horses stood outside of the Bennett home. A silky, dangerous voice sounded from the shadows.

"Leave everyone else alone; just bring me the girl, Aria." It commanded. The Nightmares obeyed. They flew up and through Aria's window where they encased her sleeping form in black sand and turned her dream into a nightmare. In a few moments, they were carrying her back down to the cavern where their master would be waiting.


	6. Chapter 6

Aria was having another nightmare in which she saw her parents' deaths over and over again. Finally she woke up screaming in a dark, damp cell of some kind. The stone walls and floor were jagged and uneven, like a natural cavern. Stalactites pointed threateningly from the ceiling. The only things that looked man made were the bars over the doorway and the heavy chains on Aria's wrists. The chains were bolted into the stone wall, leaving Aria little slack to move about in.

Suddenly, a tall dark figure loomed in front of the bars. His pale gold eyes seemed to pierce through the darkness and into Aria soul. He gave an evil chuckle as she began to fight against her chains.

"Don't fight them, my dear, they'll only grow tighter if you do." The man's black velvet voice echoed through the chamber.

"Who are you?" Aria asked. "What do you want with me?"

"Come, come, Aria, surely you've heard of the Boogeyman?" he answered in his silky, lazy voice.

"You're Pitch Black." Aria gasped.

"Been talking to a Guardian or two, I see." Pitch remarked. "Well, that's all the better. It would not do me any good to hold a prisoner that they do not know or care about."

Aria gasped. She was the bait for this monster's revenge. "You won't get away with this." She hissed at Pitch.

"Oh, I'm sure your little _knight in frozen armor_ and his comrades will come to rescue you," he replied darkly. "In fact, I'm counting on it."

Pitch turned away from the pathetic girl in his cell. He strode confidently to his Globe to find that maybe a few lights more lights had indeed gone out. He grinned wickedly. He was taking a more subtle approach this time, but he was sure that his plan would work. Frost and the Guardians would do anything for a believer, and Jack would come for this one most of all. He had watched from the shadows as the little frozen pest had written on his own frost on the window for the girl; he had watched Jack carefully watching the Sandman cast a dream for Aria, and had seen their bittersweet farewell last night. Pitch had about gagged at the way they looked at each other without breaking their embrace, but it had told him something. She sensed that something was about to happen. He knew he had to act fast before she said something. So, He had ordered his Nightmares to take her that night. Now, with Aria as bait, he was sure to draw the Guardians in.

Jack Frost had been spreading snow over various parts of North America for two days now. He could hardly believe it had been two whole days, but at the same time, it felt like it had been an eternity since he had seen Aria, Jamie and Sophie. He was worried for Aria. She had acted so strange when they had said good-bye; it was like she thought she would never see him again. Well, now that his errand was done, he pointed his wind to take him back to Burgess. Tomorrow was Easter anyway. It would be fun to help the kids with the egg hunt Bunny was sure to have set up.

Jack flew all night in his eagerness to return to Burgess. He arrived early that morning and he quickly soared over to Jamie's house. He up to Jamie's window, and sneaked in. The boy was still asleep, so Jack gently shook him a wake. "Jamie, wake up, bud! I'm back."

Slowly, Jamie opened his eyes. "Jack?" he wiped the sleep from his eyes with his fists. "Jack!" The boy cried and threw his arms around Jack's waist.

"Come on, Jamie, let's go wake your cousin up." Jack grinned down at Jamie

"We can't , Jack."

"Oh, come on, why not?"

"She's gone, Jack." Jack felt like he had just received a punch in the stomach.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "She went home already?"

"I don't know," Jamie answered. "She disappeared two days ago. The morning after we built the snowmen, she was just gone." Jamie tearfully buried her face in Jack's chest.

"Was there any sign of a struggle?" Jack asked Jamie. "Any clue to point to if it was kidnapping or not?"

"Well, her blankets were on the floor, and there was some kind of black sand in the folds of it."

"Black sand?" Jack asked, horror begin to rise in his chest.

"Yeah," Jamie slowly answered. "Jack, it-it reminded me of Pitch's sand."

Jack's suspicion solidified. Pitch was back.


	7. Chapter 7

Aria felt like she had been in the underground cell for months, though she knew it could not have been more than a few days. Pitch Black had been in there several times, trying to drag the Guardians' whereabouts from her each time. The last time he had even taken to throwing her across the cell to convince her to talk. She was quite sure that bruises now littered her face and body, and the cuffs of her chains were biting into her wrists. Still, her prayer was that Pitch not find them.

Pitch was growing impatient. He thought that Frost and the Guardians would be swarming in his cavern in hours, but it had been two days since he had brought the girl in. He begun interrogating the girl to see if the Guardians were somewhere where they would not notice her absence, but she told him nothing. He had even resorted to physically harming her to try and get information from her. Either she know nothing, or she was strong.

Suddenly, a wicked grin crept onto Pitch's face. So, Aria was physically strong, but how mentally strong was she? Pitch was the King of Nightmares, after all. Why not use them against her, and see just how strong she really was? Pitch went her cell and discovered that she had finally, after two days, fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion. Smiling maliciously, he silently sent his black nightmare sand in to her. Her brow furrowed and her body tensed as his nightmare took hold. She was already whimpering by the time her turned his back. Let her suffer in her dreams was his thought. Let her suffer a little before he interrogated her again.

"North! NORTH!" Jack frantic call rang through Nicolas St. North's workshop at the North Pole.

"Jack? What is wrong?" the big Russian rushed into the room concerned. He had never heard Jack sound like that.

"It's Aria! He has her!" Jack answered. "We have to go after her! Who know what he's doing to her!" The winter spirit paced restlessly as he spoke.

"Calm down, Jack," North soothed, laying huge hands on the boy's shoulders. "Who has Aria?"

"Pitch!"

"Impossible!"

"Jamie said she disappeared and black sand like Pitch's was found in her room." Jack said.

"How long ago?" North asked, quickly striding to the Globe room.

"Jamie said she disappeared two days ago."

"Then we must hurry!" North marched up to the instrument panels in front of the Globe and turned as knob, then pushed it in. He was sending out the Aurora Borialis signal to the other Guardians.

Within an hour, all the Guardians were together in the Globe room.

"This had better be good, North." Bunny commented.

"Now, Bunny, you know I wouldn't call you here unless it was serious. Besides Easter was yesterday."

"Yeah, but it was not as good a year as it could have been," said Bunny. "Not all of the eggs made it this year."

"Oh?"

"Many were smashed by the time the hunts came around. Almost too many, ya know?" Bunny said. "A few break, that happens, but this many—it's almost like it was deliberate."

"That's because it probably was," Jack darkly remarked.

"What?" Tooth Fairy gasped. A big question mark of sand materialized over Sandy's head.

North and Jack exchanged glances.

"Pitch is back."

"And he has Aria."


End file.
